The Misunderstanding
by ananova
Summary: When Inuyasha believes Kagome is unhappy living in the past he goes to great lengths to change it and make her happy again. But was she really unhappy? Nominated for Best Inu/Kag Romance at Feudal Association's 2nd Term 2011.


Blanket Disclaimer:

Inuyasha and all characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi. I don't own them and am not making any money from this.

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><p>Originally posted to At First Tweak on June 5, 2011. Won 2nd place. Nominated for Best InuyashaKagome Romance in the Feudal Association's 2nd Term 2011.

Prompt #45 Happiness is...

Title: The Misunderstanding

Author: ananova

Rating: T

Genre: General/Romance

Universe: Canon/Post Manga

Word Count: 2989

Summary: When Inuyasha believes Kagome is unhappy living in the past he goes to great lengths to change it and make her happy again. But was she really unhappy?

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><p>Inuyasha inwardly flinched when he saw the look of sadness on his wife's face yet again. Unconsciously, his ears drooped as he recalled how often he had been seeing that look lately. He couldn't help but wonder, how it had come to this?<p>

Those first few days after she had returned to him had been heaven. They had been so happy, he was sure of it! Getting married, moving into their hut, things had seemed like bliss. But then he had noticed _that_ look on her face. She seemed so sad, so wistful, and he knew he had seen her looking in the direction of the well more than once. Was she regretting her decision to return to him? Was she not happy?

From his position hidden in a tree he watched as she struggled with the small garden she had painstakingly planted near their hut. He felt bad as he saw her hands covered in dirt as she pulled up weed after weed. 'She shouldn't have to do this' he thought as he watched. 'She never had to work like this just to survive in her own world.' Suddenly he saw her pause as she looked at something in her hands. He couldn't see what it was from that angle but she lifted her head and he saw that same sad and wistful smile on her face once more. His claws dug roughly into the bark of the branch as he fought to keep himself from leaping down and demanding to know what the problem was. Sudden footsteps caught his attention and he stilled as he saw Sango approach.

"Kagome-chan" she called to the young woman kneeling in the dirt.

"Oh, hi Sango-chan" she returned with a brilliant smile.

Inuyasha watched the two, hoping to get some insight into the reason Kagome seemed so sad recently. He hoped it wasn't the reason he thought it was. But as they spoke of trivial things his mind kept wandering back to his previous thoughts.

'Is she not happy being here with me? I know we don't have any of the things she is used to having, and things are a lot harder here. Back there if she needed food she could just go to one of those stores and buy it but here we have to grow our own. And she had to give up all of those amazing things that her world has to offer.' He pictured some of them in his mind. He couldn't see the allure but he was sure that to her it was a tragedy not to have them. 'She's regretting coming back' he concluded as his ears drooped sadly on his head. 'And who can blame her, with all that she had to give up, and for what? A hard life of toiling work.'

He gazed sadly at the one person who meant more to him than anything else in the world as he wondered how he could make her happy. 'The well is sealed so it's not like she can return even if she wants to' he thought, though his heart lurched at the thought of her leaving him. 'I don't know if I could let her go even if it wasn't. But we don't have any of the types of things that she is used to, so how can I try to make it better?' He sat there for a while, pondering how he could obtain items that would make his wife happy again.

Suddenly the conversation below him intruded on his thoughts and his ears swiveled to listen.

"Oh, Kagome-chan! You're hair!" He looked and saw that Kagome hair had come loose from it's tie and was about to fall into the pile of weeds.

Kagome groaned and made to brush it back but Sango beat her to it and gently grasped the hair. "Here, let me. You don't want to get dirt in your hair." She quickly and efficiently retied it out of Kagome's face.

"Thanks Sango-chan" she said with a smile. "I guess I'm still not used to styling my hair without a mirror. That's the third time today." She laughed and they returned to their conversation.

Inuyasha's ears had perked at her words however. 'A mirror? That's it!' He felt a grin spread across his face as he realized that not everything from Kagome's world was out of reach. Though rare, mirrors existed in this time as well. He quickly began to ponder how to go about gaining a mirror, sure that it would restore his wife's happiness.

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard Miroku calling for him. "Ah, Inuyasha there you are."

"What do you want bouzu?" He noticed that Kagome and Sango had stopped their conversation to watch them.

"I have been contacted by a nearby village that is having trouble with some minor youkai. We will need to leave tomorrow to deal with it."

Inuyasha snorted and was about to offer a rude response when he realized that this was just what he needed. How else was he going to be able to obtain a mirror? He leaped down from the tree. "Keh. We leave first thing in the morning" he told the surprised monk as he turned to enter his hut. However, in his hurry to finish his plans, he failed to notice the look of sadness that appeared on Kagome's face.

He was in a great mood for the rest of day, full of anticipation for the journey the next day. He couldn't wait, once he obtained a mirror he wouldn't have to see that look of sadness on Kagome's face again! But with his thoughts so preoccupied he again missed the looks Kagome sent his way.

Inuyasha and Miroku left first thing the next morning. The youkai was easily dispatched and for once Inuyasha didn't give Miroku any grief about swindling the villagers. He even encouraged him. "Don't you think you could have gotten more?" he asked as they made to leave the village. He was disappointed, he doubted a village as small as this one would have something as rare as a mirror.

Miroku gave him a surprised and concerned look. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Feh! Just saying, that thing was annoying as hell. Maybe you should have asked for more for the annoyance."

Miroku chuckled. "This is a first. You are actually saying I should charge more instead of less."

They turned to head to the road that would lead them back to their own village when a shout in the distance caught their attention. They turned as a man ran after them. It turned out he was from another village that was also having youkai related trouble.

Miroku was surprised yet again when before he could even open his mouth Inuyasha eagerly told the man "Keh! We'll take care of it." He eyed his friend warily, wondering at the change in attitude.

And so it went for the next week. Inuyasha would agree to help out random villages at the first sign of trouble, even for minor things that he would have previously scoffed at and told them to handle themselves. Miroku felt his suspicions increase the more time went on, especially as Inuyasha encouraged him to charge more and more. Finally, he had enough.

As they were leaving yet another village and Inuyasha began speaking about traveling to a different village, Miroku put his foot down. "No."

"Huh?" Inuyasha looked at him, surprised at his interruption. He had been so busy planning their next stop that he hadn't noticed his friend's hesitation. His ears drooped as he thought of his failure so far. None of the villages had had any type of mirror. The closest he had come was a circle of metal that while it showed a reflection, the image was very distorted. With his thoughts on his failure it took him a moment to realize that Miroku was speaking.

"I miss my wife and children, I miss my home, and I am tired of the constant traveling. It is time we returned to our own homes."

"But aren't you the one that usually wants to help. Why would you leave these villagers to suffer?"

Miroku raised an eyebrow at him. "Since when is a flea infestation suffering? What is the real reason you don't want to return home?"

Inuyasha blustered for a bit before sighing. "I just...Feh! Kagome's been sad recently and I wanted to get her something special to cheer her up" he admitted as his face flushed red.

Miroku smiled as the reasons for his friend's behavior became clear and he clapped him on his back. "Trust me my friend, after this trip she will be happy just to see you. But still, I'm sure we have something in our earnings that will put a smile on her face" he said as he gestured to the overflowing bags that Inuyasha carried.

Inuyasha huffed. "Yeah, but not what I wanted to get her." Seeing the resolve on the former monk's face, he sighed and gave in.

They reached the village by mid afternoon and found themselves swarmed by Miroku's brood. Inuyasha carefully extracted himself from the pile and made his way to his own hut where Kagome stood, a small smile on her face.

"Hi" he said, his gut churning as he felt his failure settle upon him, despite his pleasure at seeing her again after so long.

Kagome must have noticed something in his face for her smile slipped a bit. "You were gone a while this time."

He shrugged, uncomfortable all of a sudden. "Things kept coming up."

"I know. Miroku sent a messenger so Sango and I wouldn't worry."

"Feh, nothing to worry about. Like anything's gonna be able to beat me." He saw her bite her lip and suddenly had to get out of there. Dropping the bags he carried in the doorway, he said "I should go patrol, make sure nothing's moved into the forest while I was away." He was gone before she could say a word.

He spent the rest of the day and well into the night cursing himself for his failure. Finally, after knocking down several trees, he sighed and looked at how high the moon had risen. With drooping ears and slumped shoulders he made his way back to his hut.

He paused at the door, hesitating to move aside the reed mat that covered the entrance. "Feh, what am I worried about? She'll be asleep by now." With that he entered the hut only to stop at the sight that met him.

He was right that she was asleep, however her appearance only made him feel guiltier. He took in the sight of his wife, slumped against the wall where she had apparently tried to wait up for him. The scent of her tears permeated the air, mixing with the acrid smell of smoke and overcooked food he could detect from the pot sitting above the remains of the fire that had burned too low. "Kagome" he murmured sadly as he realized that she had tried to keep dinner warm for him. His hands clenched into fists as he silently cursed himself yet again.

He moved to kneel beside her, gently brushing a strand of hair from her face. Taking in the dried tear tracks on her face, he sighed. "I can't seem to do anything right by you" he said quietly before gently picking her up and carrying her over to their futon. He laid her down only for her to immediately stir.

"Inuyasha?" she murmured as her eyes fluttered open. He swallowed the lump in his throat as he saw the pain and sadness in her eyes. "Where have you been?"

"I-" He couldn't speak, couldn't find the words to voice his failure. But his silence only seemed to make her sadder and he turned his head away.

Kagome fidgeted as he sat there, refusing to meet her gaze. Chewing on her lip, she finally broke the silence. "D-did I do something wrong?"

His head shot up as he stared at her in shock. "What?"

Now it was her turn to not meet his gaze. "It's just...you've been so distant lately. You were so excited about leaving, then you were gone so long. And when you got back you didn't even come inside. You barely said anything to me and then ran off." She twisted her hands in her lap. "Are you unhappy? Being with me, I mean? Are you regretting that I came back?" She choked as she said the last part.

"No!" He was shocked. How could she think something like that? "Never!"

"T-then why? Why have you been avoiding me? Even before this last trip with Miroku, you were distant."

He thought back. Had he really been avoiding her? Thinking about it, he could see how from her point of view she might think that. All those moments when he would brood on whether she was happy might have seemed like avoidance to her. But that thought reminded him of why he had been thinking those things.

"I thought that you were unhappy being with me" he admitted quietly. At her confused look he continued. "Things had been so great, we were so happy. And then, you would get these sad looks on your face, and several times I saw you glance in the direction of the well and knew that you were thinking of your old world. I thought that you were regretting coming back. And it hurt, every time I saw that look on your face. I didn't mean to avoid you, I just didn't know what else to do."

She stared at him. "Baka!" He flinched. "Of course I got a little sad, I missed my family. I was so happy and it would occur to me that I should tell Mama about my day, only to remember that I can't tell her. That doesn't mean I want to leave." She took a deep breath. "But though I was a little sad because I missed my family, it was your sudden avoidance that really hurt. I couldn't understand what I had done wrong, I thought you regretted marrying me."

He pulled her roughly to his chest, unable to continue listening. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I never meant to hurt you." He sighed and rested his chin above her head. "I just thought, how could you possibly be happy with me? I know how much you had to give up come back here. I can't offer you any of those things that you are used to. And I know that your life will be harder than what you would have faced in your time. I was worried that you were regretting giving those things up to come back to me."

Kagome gave a small laugh as she wrapped her own arms around him. "Look at the two of us. We each think the other has regrets." She leaned back and gave him a small smile. "We really need to work on our communication skills."

"Feh" was his response though he returned her smile. Brushing her hair from her face he repeated "I really am sorry for making you worry and causing you pain." He cleared his throat as he gazed seriously into her eyes. "You know it's hard for me to talk about my feelings but I promise I'll try to talk things over with you instead of just leaping to conclusions. Can't promise that I'll always succeed" he added with a wry grin.

"That's all I ask" Kagome said as she smiled again. "And I'll try to do the same. Though you know it's in my nature to worry, so don't go asking me not to worry about you, especially when you travel away from the village." That reminded her of his recent trip and it's unexpected length. "Speaking of which, why were you gone so long?" She gave him a curious look when he suddenly looked away and began to fidget.

"W-well, I had been thinking that you were missing the comforts of your era and wondering how I could replace them. Then I heard you talking to Sango and I heard you mention that you missed having a mirror. So" he shot her a nervous look, "I decided I was going to find a mirror for you. I figured it was something from your time I could provide." He sighed and reached into his haori. "But mirrors are rare in this time, and this is the closest I could come." He handed her the circle of metal. "Sorry. I just wanted to make you happy."

Kagome stared between the metal and her husband before shaking her head. "Baka. I don't need material things to be happy. I just need you." She tossed the object aside and wrapped her arms around him once more.

Inuyasha eagerly returned the embrace. "And I only need you. You are my happiness, Ka-go-me." He inhaled her beautiful scent and placed a tender, loving kiss to the top of her head.

Kagome snuggled deeper into his chest. "And you are mine, Inuyasha." She poked him in the chest. "So no more leaving me for long periods of time in search of items that, while nice, we don't need, understand?"

"Perfectly" he said as he leaned down to claim her lips with his own, wanting to show her just how happy he really was. Kagome was more than willing to reciprocate the feeling.


End file.
